Let’s
now take a walk around the funfair to see what was
on offer to amuse visitors during the first year of
operation. The park was laid out in an L-shape. The
two largest rides came courtesy of showman John
Collins. The Big Dipper was the bigger of the two
gravity rides, its white structure dominated the
southern end of the Amusement Park. This ride was a
rebuild of the Scenic Railway from Collins’ Crystal
Palace Amusement Park in Sutton Coldfield. This ride
had been a rebuild of Stephen Hadfield’s Scenic
Railway from Southport’s Pleasureland. Virtually
next door was the Dragon Ride which was a
rebuild of Hadfield’s other former Southport coaster
the Mountain Caterpillar Railway. This differed from
the first gravity ride in that it was covered in
plaster rock work to resemble a mountain. The trains
had dragon’s heads on their front carriage. Both
coasters were side friction rides and had a brakeman
travelling with each train. John Collins also
operated a Brooklands Speedway; this had been
manufactured by Supercar and was built up inside the
Big Dipper. While the same owner’s Wall of Death
operated inside the Dragon Mountain.

The entrance to the Dragon Ride. Photo: Horst
Koch

Collins’ final large ride was one of the novelties
that were making their debut at the Festival
Gardens. The Boomerang was a pretty unusual ride to
say the least. A spinning frame had four tubs
attached to its arms. The ride gradually built up
speed on a circular platform. The operator then
released a coupling which caused the cars to shoot
up an incline and into a tunnel before arriving back
at the loading platform. This novelty must have had
limited appeal as I have never seen any record on
any similar rides in this country.

Another concessionaire who had a number of
attractions was Billy Manning from Southsea. He
bought along the three abreast Gallopers that
normally operated at the resort’s Clarence Pier.
This ride only stayed at the Festival Gardens for a
couple of seasons before returning to the pier. He
also had a Moon Rocket and Octopus on site. His
final large ride was a set of Dodgems which were
housed in a large semi permanent building that
measured 130ft by 60ft.

Marshall Hill came from just along the coast -
Hayling Island. He provided an open top Caterpillar,
at the time a staple ride of most amusement parks.
But he didn’t stay at Battersea very long as by
September he had sold the ride, which now had a
roof, to Arthur Bates who also ran the park’s
Waltzer. The World’s Fair newspaper described this
latter ride as being elaborately decorated by Nuways
Art Service Studio and brilliantly lit inside.

John Collins's Big Dipper ride ran across one side
of the park. This was a Scenic Railway roller
coaster, which featured a brakeman. The ride would
close after a tragic accident in 1972. The
Fly-o-Plane can be seen in the foreground.
Picture:
Horst Koch

The unusual Boomerang ride. Click here for a close-up of the tunnel.
Picture: National Fairground Archive